Energize With A Cup Of Guayusa

CAPSULE REPORT: A week or two ago, as we roamed among the exhibitors at the Coffee & Tea Festival in New York City, we came across guayusa.

Pronounced why-YOU-suh, guayusa has been quietly available for a while from boutique tea companies. Runa, the exhibitor at the show, is a project that has organized guayusa growers and harvesters to help create economic sustainability among rainforest inhabitants.

Our conversation with the representative went like this:

REP: Would you like some herbal tea?

US: What kind of herbal tea?

REP: It’s a caffeinated herbal tea made from holly leaves, with great health benefits.

US: Wow, this is delicious! It’s so fresh, crisp and clean. Not at all like maté [which, we hasten to note, has its own charms and avid fans].

Guayusa is as refreshing and comforting as your favorite herbal tea. We love it!

The very next day, while cleaning up a pile of sell sheets for products we failed to pursue last year, we came across a sell sheet for...the same Runa guayusa! So it’s our bad that it’s taken so long to tell you about this wonderful drink.

An all-natural source of energy and nutrition, a cup of guayusa can produce a clear mind and focused energy. Like maté, it has an impressive balance of amino acids, antioxidants, caffeine and vitamins. The caffeine, balanced by the other ingredients, keeps you alert without any jitters.

Guayusa is a triple-feel-good product:

You drink it and feel good.

Your purchase helps indigenous farmers of Napo Province, Ecuador.

You also help the planet. Guayusa is shade-grown under an Amazon rainforest canopy and requires a diverse ecological habitat. Guayusa sales create economic incentives for farmers to keep the rainforest intact.

There’s much more to say—about the flavors, the health benefits and the back story of guyausa—on the next page. Before you click away, take a peek at the article index below.

THE NIBBLE has been reviewing the finest foods in America since 2004.Our recommendations are based purely on our opinion, after tasting thousands of products each year, that they represent the best in their respective categories. Product reviews are by a unanimous vote of our Editorial Committee. We do not accept placement fees: All products have earned their way into our webzine due to excellence.

Healing Herbal Teas

Healing Teas, by Marie Nadine Antol. A resource for the beginner interested in the benefits of herbal teas. From their history to their present day uses, you’ll be surprised at the healing powers of what’s growing in your yard. More information.

Healing Herbal Teas: A Complete Guide to Making Delicious, Healthful Beverages, by Brigitte Mars. In all the centuries before the current one, mankind relied on herbal teas to cure many woes. They still work! More information.

Herbal Tea Gardens: 22 Plans for Your Enjoyment & Well-Being, by Marietta Marshall Marcin. Plant your own herbal tea garden. Harvest and brew your teas from fresh leaves—just as so many people have done throughout history. More information.

INDEX OF REVIEW

This is Page 1 of a two-page review. Click on the black links to visit other pages: